Prostitution Law in Rhode Island

Summary

The Rhode Island legislature introduced a bill, HB5044A, to recriminalize indoor prostitution. The main justification offered for the bill was that it was absolutely necessary to prevent and address trafficking into prostitution. SWP's experience has been that arrests for prostitution related offenses are more likely to hurt rather than help victims of trafficking, and rarely lead to identification and assistance of victims.

Despite opposition from SWP and other groups, this bill passed and became law.